A Critical Situation
by Descartre
Summary: My imaginings of what could have happened between Natsu and Lucy that night at the hot spring in OVA 4. It's a kind of sweet but extremely sour lemon for all you Nalu fans out there.


Unsure of whether or not I want to end it like this. Let me know what you guys think! If you think I should continue it, I'll write more. Thanks for chosing my story! Read and enjoy!

-Descartre

* * *

"Natsu's back feels so warm," Natsu poured over the memory of Lucy murmuring sweet words into his shoulder when he finally agreed to give her a piggyback ride. What possessed him to do something like that was beyond him. Except… She was so… likeable when she looked at him like that, cheeks flushed, eyes shining like some of her stars, the way her robe fell in the middle to reveal that beautiful, soft- Natsu! Get a hold of yourself! He mentally whacked himself over the head. This was definitely a critical situation. What was Lucy after?!

He relaxed against the heated rocks of the hot spring that he'd snuck outside for. It wasn't like he needed time to think about Lucy or anything like that! Ice-dick could snore louder than anyone he'd ever met before and it was impossible to sleep in there, that's why he went out on his own. Natsu growled in frustration and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to erase the memory of Lucy's creamy, irresistible- FRIENDSHIP! …With him. It was official, he was going crazy.

Left alone to his sometimes overactive imagination, images of Lucy coming to him in the middle of the night kept flashing through his mind. Lucy appreciatively running her hands over his well-trained body and confessing how much she wanted him, her barely covered breasts shouting out for attention. He felt an uncomfortable tightness in his groin for the third time that night. What the hell was this shit?! Confusing! Weird! Kind of icky- and really awesome. "Lucy," he muttered to himself and sank back into the water, not noticing the surface stir.

"Natsu…" Her gentle voice responded back to him. At first Natsu thought it was his imagination but then he felt her feather light touch on his arm and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Lu-Lucy!" Oh god? What now?! He prepared himself for the possibility that he might have to run away and forced himself to acknowledge her. A single glance told him that it was a bad idea. "Lucy! What the-what are you…" She blushed and smiled shyly, wearing nothing save for an innocent expression that had no place next to her lack of clothing. "Oh!" Natsu began laughing like a Maniac, trying to make sense of the situation. "You lost your clothes!" It was a dream, right? It had to be a dream. He'd fallen asleep in the bath, drown, and now he was in heaven. Heaven? What the hell?

"How would I lose my clothes?!" She snarled at him.

"Then you left them here?" Why was he so fixated on her being naked? He'd walked in on her in the bath before. How was this any different? 'You're bathing together, idiot,' his inner voice groaned at his stupidity. That was right. Normally she'd dropkick him out of her apartment if he caught even a glimpse of her getting dressed.

"No, I just wanted another bath," Lucy moaned slightly and relaxed on the rocks next to Natsu, making his mind run off in a million different directions. "Juvia won't shut up about how much she's in love with 'Gray-Sama'."

"How did you get in here anyway, Luce? I mean I know the guys' bath must be way more awesome, but don't you girls have your own?" Why was he complaining about this? Baaaka.

"There's one thing it's missing," she looked at him with sad eyes.

"Huh? Lucy… What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I don't know. What happened earlier?"

"Ha-happened? You mean you don't remember?" She didn't remember being all over him?

"I heard that I, well… That I touched you and you didn't want it. Natsu, it's so embarrassing. I'm so sorry." Her tone was softer and sweeter than he'd ever heard before. Seriously though, was she crazy? Even if she didn't remember it, he was far from unwilling, if not a little scared out of his mind.

"Hah! Lucy! That's okay!" She'd actually been really cute when she snuggled up against him and asked him to tickle her. "You weren't that scary!"

"Scary?! Oh no!" She buried her face in her hands.

"HEY!" He yelled at her out of the blue, startling her. "Stop feeling bad!" He was just trying to make her laugh!

"I'm sorry!" She delicately wiped her tears away as she tried to hide from him. Natsu couldn't help but notice, Lucy was so pretty when she cried. Still, he hated to see it.

"Stop crying! Damn it!"

"Why do you even care?" She cast a pair of watery, accusing eyes at him and he melted. Natsu pulled her against his chest and protectively wrapped his arms around her shoulders, as if he could stop her from hurting with that one simple action.

"I hate it when you cry," he murmured against her cheek, nose buried in her damp, fragrant locks. It was meant to be a simple, reassuring action, one of friendship, but the air around them suddenly grew thick with anticipation. Both were afraid to move. Moving would mean acknowledging the position they both found themselves in. Lucy's bare breasts pressed up against his well-muscled chest, his manhood insistently prodding her bare thighs.

Light years seemed to pass, both desperate to move and both unwilling to break the spell. Lucy was the first to make a decision. Sliding her trembling hands down his chest and pulling him closer to her, she returned his embrace. Every inch of skin that didn't make contact felt cold and wanting. They were magnetic. Natsu panicked when they pulled back to look at each other. Lucy could make him feel more things with just her eyes than he could count. Natsu brought up his hand to brush away a loose lock of hair that had fallen over her cheek.

"Natsu," Lucy murmured breathily and looked at him with the utmost intent and sincerity. It became clear to him in that moment that he didn't have to be anxious around her. Lucy and him found each other by pure chance, but she'd changed his life every day since. He couldn't place the feelings he had for Lucy because he'd never had them before. He wasn't supposed to know what they were. Lucy represented something new and beautiful for him, and she always made him want to know what would happen next.

He watched her lick her lips as her gaze fell to his mouth. Despite his inexperience he knew what she was asking for… Probably.

"Natsu, I want to- I want…" She left off with a blush and released him, arms coming up to cover her chest.

"Why are you acting so weird?" She was the bravest, most unpredictable girl he'd ever met and now she was acting too much like some other girl he knew, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Are you mad at me?" Lucy pouted, backing away as Natsu unconsciously stepped closer to her again.

"No! That's not it. I'm not mad," he insisted for the second time that night. "But you're not acting like Lucy." He eyed her warily. "You didn't have any more sake did you?" Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust and made a face.

"Sake. Definitely no more sake." She giggled. "Just Lucy."

"Good. I wanted to try something with just Lucy". She had only a moment to wonder at his meaning before Natsu leaned down a pressed a chaste kiss against her lips. Lucy was tense underneath his touch but immediately grabbed his wrists to keep him from going away.

"That was…"

"Not good enough," he finished for her and captured her lips again with more confidence. Lucy tensed again before melting into it and returning the kiss with just as much warmth and admiration. Was something so good and simply right what all the fuss was about? Natsu thought about it. Kissing with anyone else just wouldn't have felt the same, it wouldn't feel good. Apparently everyone else was doing it wrong because they made kissing and touching sound like some kind of forbidden acts. Yet another thing he was the best at.

"I thought I'd have more clothes on for my first kiss," Lucy admitted with a blush when they parted.

"You didn't come here for it?" Natsu cocked an eyebrow and she looked away, flustered.

"I wasn't scheming at all! It just happened that way. Still, the lack of clothes makes it more convenient."

"Convenient?" He gulped as she stroked the smooth planes of muscle on his back, fingernails lightly raking his skin and making him burn for her. Lucy brought her mouth to his in a searing (even for him) kiss and slipped her tongue into his mouth. Normally the thought of having someone else's tongue in his mouth would have made him cringe, but Lucy was so absurdly warm and delicious. He couldn't get enough of her. His body demanded more.

Without a second thought, his arms wrapped themselves around her body and slammed her up against his chest, grinding her delicate body against his as he fought to get closer to her. He groaned at the feeling of her soft breasts practically pressed up against his chin again, they were softer than he'd ever imagined.

Lucy paused suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Natsu's voice was hoarse. What was the problem? He couldn't stand it.

"What if someone sees?" She nervously played with her hands, drawing them back from his body. The loss of contact hit him like a ton of bricks. 'Let them!' His overactive hormones screamed at him, but he got the better of them. He didn't want anyone else seeing Lucy like that. He wouldn't allow it.

"No one is in that room up there," he grinned triumphantly at her and scooped her up in his arms, throwing his bathrobe over her naked form.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" She squealed in surprise. "Don't tell me-" a look of horror crossed her face. "You're not going to jump up there, are you?"

"Ah don't worry, Lucy. Plenty of practice."

"Yeah-" her eyes narrowed. "Plenty of practice breaking into my apartment."

"You're still not used to it?"

She squeezed her eyes shut as they went from being airborne to landing on the window ledge with barely a sound. So that's how he always snuck in without her knowing! She never imagined he could move with so much finesse. Natsu flicked open the window screen and carried her inside. Lucy shivered and pulled the robe tighter around her.

"It's cold in here," she whimpered. The water from the hotspring left her skin feeling icy against the slight breeze.

"Not for long," he grinned mischievously and wrapped his arms around her again.

"Natsu, you're so warm," Lucy moaned and pressed herself up against him again, like a cat. Natsu's mind went slightly numb. 'So out of character', he thought, 'but so sexy'. He laid back on the bed roll, admiring her beautiful moonlit form as she knelt over him, bringing her lips in to meet his again.

"Lucy…" he muttered. "You're beautiful." It was his turn to be out of character. He could do it if only in front of Lucy. She blushed at his words and reverent gaze. Gathering confidence, Lucy pushed the robe from her shoulders and draped her long legs over his hips. Natsu choked. What was THAT?! He felt something smoldering hot and wet covering his length and he pressed himself up against it, making her gasp and mewl.

"Really?" he flashed her a cocky smile. She liked it, huh? Grinding his hips up against hers again, he brought his hands up to play with her breasts. He gave them a hard squeeze and tugged lightly on her nipples.

"Mmm, Natsu! That's too hard," she complained, obviously still enjoying it. He was shocked when she finally pushed him back down to the bed.

"Again?" He whined. "What's wrong?"

"I wanted to try something too," she smirked at him. Natsu braced himself for whatever weird fantasy Lucy had about him as she slid down his body, right between his legs. He almost lost the ability to breath when her tentative fingers found his member and she closed her hand around it.

"Agh," he groaned. "That's a really good surprise." Lucy just smiled as she continued her exploration, bringing her other hand in to give his balls a light squeeze as she massaged him, rubbing and sliding her hand up his shaft.

"You like that too?" She hummed appreciatively at the sound of his heavy gasps; it wouldn't surprise her if he started breathing fire at that point. "I wonder…" Lucy knelt down further and ran her tongue over the head. "How it tastes."

"UH!" Natsu bucked his hips and it thumped her in the nose, earning a girlish giggle from Lucy. Natsu lose all the ability to speak or even think coherently when she tilted her head down again and slid his manhood in between her lips. Her mouth! So hot, wet, soft, and slightly textured, kind of like that other spot. Lucy started to suck on it, moving her mouth up and down on him. He lost himself to the feelings she was giving him. "Mmm… Lucy!" he whined and started to thrust his hips up as she went down on him. Lucy squeaked in surprise the first time, but soon found a rhythm with him.

Natsu leaned up, supporting himself on an elbow as his other hand wound itself in her hair. He was trying his best not to push her down on him, but he wanted to see how much of it she could take in her mouth. What an incredible skill she was hiding from him all this time! On her next stroke down his hand automatically started to push her farther and she made a noise of surprise, almost choking on it, but she didn't fight against him. She took the whole thing deeper and sucked harder, making him lose his mind again.

"Ah, Lucy… That's too good. I'm-ah-agh". He tried pulling himself out of her mouth, but he was too late, he erupted inside of her mouth, thrusting his hips a few times as the purest feeling of excitement and peace filled him up. His last burst landed on her tongue and he collapsed, panting and reaching out for her to join him. "That was AWESOME!" He was positively giddy after his first orgasm. "Wasn't that awesome, Lucy?"

"Awesome for you," she pouted at the foot of the bed. Was he trying to kill her?

"Oh I get it," he smiled at her. "You want some too, right?"

"Some-" Her eyes widened as he yanked her arm so that she fell on the bed beside him. He started to warm her up with a few more very grateful kisses.

"Thank you," he murmured between kisses, and trailed his mouth down her body, making her gasp and squirm. The noises she made when he touched her were so sweet, just like Lucy. She was always sweet. "So you liked it when I touched you-" he grabbed a handful of breast and flicked a thumb over her nipple, "here, right?" She moaned softly. He leant in and ran his tongue over one of her breasts, earning a small shout from her. "Oh, really? So you like it when I eat you up." He kissed his way down to her belly button and dove his tongue in. "What about there?" Another soft appreciative sound. "No? Then…" He made his way down to her inner thigh, his nose just barely skimming over her womanhood on the way there. "Here?" He kissed her thigh softly and she cried out, hooking a leg over his shoulder. "Still not good enough, huh?" He grinned and ran a hand over that mysterious wet spot. "So it must be here…" His fingers gently traced her folds. It was prettier than he expected it would be, much better looking than his, and different, like a glistening sakura blossom. Also, it smelled amazing, like it was meant to be tasted and enjoyed by a man.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" Lucy gasped as he crouched between her legs with a curious look on his face, just inches from her most intimate parts.

"I'm going to taste it," he smiled at her, dipped his head to give it a lick and nearly died. "Well, more than taste," he groaned. She was sweet, and just a little bit sour. She tasted like pure sexuality. It was an experience that he could not compare to anything he'd done before, besides maybe licking an ice cream cone, but instead of cold, it was hot and textured. All he could do was dive in, lose himself in the taste of her, and drown in the wonderful sounds coming from her throat. Just as he'd done to her, Lucy was soon moving her hips against his face, hand knitted in his hair, encouraging him to suck her clit and lick her harder. He managed to hit just the right spot and Lucy panicked, feeling like she would die if he repositioned his mouth. Her hand wound itself tighter in his hair, holding his head in place as she ground against him with just the perfect amount of friction.

"Aaaaahhh," she arched her back as every muscle in her body became tense. "Just a little bit- Oh!" Her legs trembled and her body shook as she experienced her first orgasm from another person. A feeling of pure happiness rushed through her, it's warmth hitting her womb just right and making her feel like hundreds of little butterflies were fluttering around inside of her. Lucy collapsed on the bed and started to laugh between heavy breaths without a care in the world. "Oh wow," she gasped. "I've never felt anything like that. You're amazing!"

"Well yeah!" Natsu's tone was smug.

A sudden sense of tiredness coming over her, Lucy snatched up one of the blankets from the bed and started to cuddle up with it, but a sharp tug on her ankles slipped her right out of her calm stupor. When she opened her eyes she found herself staring straight into the face of a very excited and fired up Natsu, he looked the same way he did when he was about to pull her into some really arduous training regimen.

"It's definitely not time for sleep yet. We just got started," he grinned at her, and she felt her legs start to tremble again.

"You want to do _that_ too?" Lucy's eyes grew wide with fear and apprehension. She'd never even been touched by a man before that, beyond the random stranger that tried to grope her at the store or on the train. Would it hurt? He seemed so big… too big.

"Don't look like that," Natsu frowned at her. She looked scared. Why was she scared of him? He wanted to make her feel good again. Those noises that she was making were so… cute. "Lucy," he leveled her seriously. "You know that I would never hurt you, right?"

"I know that," Lucy smiled shyly at him.

"Awesome!" He shifted above her, pushing her legs opened as he positioned the tip of his member at her entrance. "Ready, Lucy?"

"Um- Yeah… Ready." Without any further ado, Natsu pushed himself inside. His triumphant smile immediately melted into one of disbelief and sheer amazement. He thought her mouth was amazing but this was just- just ridiculous! He felt surrounded by the hottest, smoothest feeling in the world, with every slight movement of his hips, the friction threatened to overwhelm him again.

"Ohhhh FUCK!" He hissed out a string of profanities as he pushed himself the rest of the way in, only stopping when he heard her whimper underneath him. "Lucy?" He looked down at her face.

"Mmm Natsu," she whined quietly.

"Does it hurt too much?" he panted. 'Please, let the answer be no. Please say no,' he prayed silently.

"Not too much," she smiled weakly at him. "You're inside me. It's amazing."

"Yeah…" he breathed, automatically beginning to draw himself back and push back in, his pacing slow. She was so wet, it just slid right in, even though her virgin walls gripped him and pushed with all their might.

"Keep going. Do that again." Lucy brought her legs up to wrap around his hips and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Mm," Natsu grunted his agreement, feeling like a caveman, unable to form words.

"It feels good. Can you do it a little faster?" Natsu froze then and looked at her. A challenge?! Could he do it faster?

"Okay," Natsu grinned at her. "You asked for it."

"What?" He grabbed her hips and sat back on his knees, thrusting as hard and fast as his body would allow. "OH! Natsu! Ah! Just like that!"

"You like that?!" He slammed her hips against his harder and reached over to give her a sharp squeeze on her breast. "That's the power of a dragon slayer!"

"Yes! Keep going! Oh Natsu!" He flipped her over on her hands and knees, giving her a hard spank and thrust himself inside again. Using her shoulders for leverage he was able to pound into her harder and deeper than before until she was almost mewling in pain. Lucy's knees gave out after another particularly hard thrust and he collapsed on top of her, still pumping in and out as she lay helpless beneath him, crushed by his weight in the best way. Natsu growled as the sounds he drew from her filled the room and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to kiss him as he pounded into her, thrust after thrust. He angled his hips and found just the right spot, hitting it over and over again.

"Agh, Natsu! Right there. Keeping doing that, I'm going to- HAAA-AH!" She shouted loudly and arched back into him, her body racked with an even more powerful orgasm before.

"Fuck! Lucy- Lucy- Lucy-" He chanted her name as her tight channel contracted around him, dripping down her shaking thighs and his member. With another hard thrust he lost all control, spilling himself inside her as her walls still twitched and quivered around him. He stopped breathing and let that brief moment of perfection hit him before pulling out and collapsing beside her. They both lay there stunned for a moment, slightly confused about what just happened, but neither caring to give it any thought.

"Come here," he pulled her to his chest and put his chin on top of her head, breathing in the wonderful scent of her and their act together.

"What a mess," Lucy breathed, at a loss for anything else to say. Her thighs were sticky and wet from the combination of their cum spilling out of her.

"Who the hell cares?" How was that so amazing? It was practically criminal. He'd never want to go another day without being inside Lucy again. "Ahhh. I'm tired. Let's sleep. We're doing that again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the next day. Actually, you should probably just marry me and then we can do it every day!"

"You're very enthusiastic about this," Lucy stared at him wide-eyed. "That was a terrible proposal."

"Hmmm what? Proposal?"

"Never mind, Natsu." She was too tired to care. She'd grill him in the morning about taking responsibility. "I'm glad you're my partner. Sweet dreams."

"Yeah. You too," he murmured sleepily and pulled the blankets around them. "Good night, Lucy".

* * *

Lucy woke up the next morning feeling cold. Eyes still welded shut from sleep, she clumsily tried to reach out for her partner.

"Natsu?" She murmured. When her fingers found nothing, her eyes snapped open. SERIOUSLY?! He left?! Lucy was thrown into an instant panic. Was he having regrets? About what? Did he not enjoy it? What if he didn't like her? Or maybe it was because… Lucy gasped. They didn't use protection! What if she became pregnant from her first time? Natsu wasn't ready to be a father! He was still a child himself in many ways.

Lucy curled her knees up against her chest, rocking back and forth anxiously and looked over at where he had been sleeping next to her the entire night. Folded neatly on his pillow was her bathrobe. She would have smiled at his kind gesture, finding her something to wear after their night together, but she had already made up her mind. She couldn't forgive him for leaving her like she was some kind of cheap one night stand. 'It's not like he told you he loved you, you idiot,' Lucy's conscience prodded her. She was the one who initiated everything, after all. This whole mess was her fault. Tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, she slipped the robe over her shoulders and made her way downstairs to meet with the others, bracing herself for the pain that was inevitably to come.

"Lucy!" several of their friends greeted her as she joined them at for breakfast in their common room.

"Good morning," she responded quietly and sat down between Levy and Juvia.

"Slept in late?" Levy prodded her. "Something from last night have you exhausted?" She teased.

"Wh-what?" She nervously wrung her hands in front of her as every set of eyes in the room fell upon her.

"We missed you this morning, Lucy. Where did you go off to?" Erza questioned, her expression uncommonly calm.

"I uh… Went for a walk on the beach," Lucy mumbled, eyes downcast.

"Yeah come to think of it, Natsu wasn't in our room last night either," Happy accused. Natsu remained silent in his spot at the opposite end of the table from Lucy, the nervous blush on his face betraying his stiff posture.

"What do you know, cat?!" Lucy snapped at him, earning even more suspicious looks from their friends.

"Hm," Erza murmured a noise of understanding and sipped on her tea. "As I said. The fastest way to find Natsu is to look for Lucy."

"Let's just drop it," Lucy muttered and stuffed a big portion of rice in her mouth, effectively ending her part in the conversation.

"They llllike each other!" Happy sing-songed behind Lucy.

"Shut up!"

* * *

Natsu had a problem. No longer guided by his hormones and that haze of lust, he was being pulled in a billion different ways by feelings he had no experience with. The way that Lucy looked at him at breakfast… She looked so angry, hateful almost. Did he do something during the night that made her upset? He hated seeing Lucy upset. That's how this whole mess started in the first place.

Worse yet, their friends were onto them. Natsu couldn't quite figure out why, but he felt strange about them knowing what went on between him and Lucy. Not that they knew all the details of course, but just the general idea of it. He didn't want to be anyone's boyfriend. That he knew for sure. The term just sounded so soft and weak, it also didn't at all cover how he felt about Lucy. He didn't just want to take her out on dates or hold her hand and kiss her in public. He wanted more from her than that, he just wasn't sure what yet.

Natsu didn't know when Lucy became one of the most important people in his life, but she definitely ranked up there with Happy and Igneel. After their first night that they really spent together, something raw and instinctive clawed at his insides. It felt like there was an empty space that only Lucy could fill. That hole in his gut taunted him all morning until she showed up, and when she finally did, the fact that she was obviously sad about something made him hurt too. It was as if his soul had mated with her too. It had only been an hour since he last saw her, but already Natsu found himself missing her scent and her warmth, the sweetness that could only be associated with Lucy.

"Natsu!" Erza's harsh voice tore him away from his thoughts.

"Yes Erza?" He squeaked. What did he do to make her mad this time? Was it Lucy? Was she going to kill him?

"Where is Lucy? It's time to go." Come to think of it, Lucy had been avoiding everybody all morning.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since breakfast."

"Well go find her. The train is leaving in a half hour."

"Aye sir!" He ran back inside the resort to go search. If it came down suffering the wrath of the monster known as Erza or riding a train even sick to his stomach as Lucy soothingly stroked his hair and let him sleep on her, he'd definitely choose the latter.

* * *

Natsu took a big whiff of the air around him and immediately picked up Lucy's scent. It was always familiar to him and easy to track, but it was even more potent after becoming so physically intimate. Her scent tickled his senses on a new level. Following his nose, he ran upstairs to the rooms and smiled a little bit. She'd gone back to _their_ room. Was she waiting for him? His hand paused on the doorframe when he noticed something different. Lucy's scent was all mottled with the salty scent of tears. She was crying again? Sliding open the door, he cautiously approached her. She was kneeling in front of the window, staring at the scenery outside.

"You're not very good at hide and seek," Natsu tried to alleviate the tension with a joke. Lucy's posture immediately stiffened when she heard his voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well Erza sent me to find you… We have to be at the station in a half hour."

"I'll be there," Lucy sighed, still refusing to look at him.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Natsu moved to stand behind her.

"Everything."

"Everything?" He knelt down beside her and wrapped his hand around one of hers. "I don't get it. What happened?"

"Natsu… How do you feel about me?" Lucy turned her teary eyes on him. "What was that last night?"

"Mmmm….." He thought for a long moment, visibly struggling for the right words. "You know how I feel about Igneel and Happy right?" Lucy didn't answer. "It feels the same when I think about you too."

"Natsu, are you serious?!" Lucy breathed, eyes wide with disbelief.

"I don't want to be your boyfriend, Lucy," he told her seriously.

"Is that why you left this morning?" Her voice shook with fresh tears that were threatening to fall. "God, Natsu! What do you even want from me?"

"I really like it the way things are. We have fun! We go on missions, we train, we fight, we eat, and we hang out all the time. I don't see why things have to change just because we had sex together," he shrugged it off and before he knew it, Lucy's open palm connected with his cheek with a resounding slap.

"Natsu, you idiot! It changes everything! What if I got pregnant? That's why you're not supposed to do it with someone you're not involved with. Sex is something you do when you know you want to be with one person."

"Lucy…" Natsu sensed her hurt and confusion and it killed him inside. "I didn't explain it right. We're already involved! We have been for a while, right?" He smiled at her, seeing her expression lighten slightly, as if some weight she was bearing had been lifted off her shoulders. "Also, you're not pregnant. I'd be able to tell. But if you did get pregnant," a big goofy grin crossed his face. "We could have baby Igneels even sooner!"

"Even sooner?" Lucy gulped. He was serious, wasn't he?

"You'll meet Igneel someday and then we'll all be a big happy family, right?"

"A big happy family," Lucy murmured with a smile, wiping away her tears that had finally stopped falling. That was both something they wanted, family. Both had loved and lost someone very important to them. Everything changed for her when Natsu introduced her to his wonderfully dysfunctional family at Fairy Tail. Moreover, her, Natsu, and Happy were already a family together in many ways. "Natsu…" Lucy blushed as she prepared to say the words she'd never said to a man other than her father. "I really love you."

"That's another way to say it," Natsu grinned at her and pulled her in for a tender embrace. "We still have to catch that…" he gagged, "train, before Erza kills me. Are you ready to go?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her up to her feet.

"Just one more thing," Lucy smiled sweetly at him and leaned up to press a brief but heartfelt kiss against his lips. "Okay, now we can go!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him away to his doom.

* * *

Tbc? Let me know if you guys want to know what happens after they get back to the guild. Or I can end it here. Reader's choice. (:  
Thanks for reading!

-Descartre


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